my planted 3foot

hey guys this is my attempt at a planted tank,thinking of entering it into tanks gone mad would probably win.i had an idea in mind when i started out and it quickly went pear shaped.its just guppies in there at the moment and one hitcher from some driftwood.im leaving it be at the moment it has quite a nice wild feel at the moment would be perfect for a salf.duno how much you can see from the pic.

 

Looking good Athol! This will make a cool tetra tank or maybe some apistogrammas.
See if you can plant all the stem plants at the back, will look neater.

 

i hear you boebie,a little background info.the tank has got a pfp underlayer,i had some amazon swords in the corner which didnt workout to well not enough light in that corner i think so i took them out instead of disturbing the pfp to much by planting them somewhere else in the tank,then i had a big blank space there plus to all my java ferns were turning black and the vallis was also standing still so i decided to fill the gaps with driftwood i just kept buying a piece every week i found a place that had them cheap i then tied what was left of the java fern onto them and they seem to be doing something now so im very happy im hoping in 3 years they'l fill that gap.also i gave that blackwater thing a go i just soak the wood overnight in hotwater to kill any goggas(doesnt work very well) then gooi it in the next day so it leaches hoping it will help lower the ph,also got some peatmoss in the canister filter.heart is really set on getting some leaf fish so im trying to be patient with stocking it at the moment.

 

oh and thanx ,iv got some vallis at the back that is starting to do something also so i'l see how it goes otherwise i will just have to plant that other one i think its a hygrophylla somethng all at the back,it grows so fast.

 

Hey Athol! Don't feel alone... I wonder if anyone has a low-tech planted tank which has evolved according to plan! Mine have both taken on a life of their very own! But slowly I'm learning what will grow where... but believe me, you'd have competition in a category called "tank-gone-mad"! Maybe we should start one! I have Vallis as a foreground plant (LOL), moss going ballistic, some echinodurus styling while others do, well, not much!
Ps: at least they're good and green!

 

ja im digging the wild look i just tell myself iv got an authentic amazon feel going on.

 

what gravel did you use?

 

pool filter sand over enriched pfp

 

thanks man, i like the look of the tank!!!!

 

i like it a lot. its really got that dark "amazon riverbed look"

awesome

 

thanx guys now i just need to get the ph right,the plants(java fern)growing a bit faster and the perfect fish i'm thinking of a few tetras in the mean time like serpaes while i wait patiently for my leaf fish.

 

Looks cool Athol, very "river bed", i like..

 

bit of an update:BBA all over(think i know why)i'm trying to sort it out.the hygrophila grows like theres no tomorrow iv taken 99%out,tank looks much brighter now.have some kind of limnophila growing nicely as a floating plant will plant it now to replace what iv taken out.vallis is growing nicely.Added an anubia which in the i think its 2 months i'v had it has put out more new growth than the java fern iv had for a year.inmates are 6 panda corys,5 red eye tetras,5 serpaes,5 white cloud minnows,lotsa guppies and one bulldog pleco.i do weekly 50% water changes feeding weekly with tetra plantfood soon to be abolished and will start using seachem products

 

This is what it looks like now forgive the pic quality bb's are not the best cameras.

 

wow dude, looks nice! PLENTY of wood! i like it!

 

Looking VERY good Athol.

Love the heater angle :laugh:

 

ja they had a sale lol,i put all the wood in there with the intention of growing out some java fern on there and then move it to the oscar tank(fail)and also to soften the water and both didnt work.its all quite a mish mash at the moment no real design i just move the pieces around now and then trying to see in which position will the plants grow.